A schoolgirl committed suicide, after being allegedly harassed by a teacher of a local madrasa in Hapania Goysapara village of Dhakikhola union in Trishal upazila of Mymensingh yesterday.

The victim was identified as Sohagi Begum, 13, daughter of Nazrul Islam, a day labourer.

Quoting local people and family sources, Md Jakiur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Trishal Police Station, said Sohagi, a fourth grader at local Goysapara Govt Primary School, used to go to learn Arabic at adjacent Kawranbai Furkania Madrasa. She also went there yesterday morning.

Selim Miya Jilani, an uncle of the girl who was in the vicinity, saw Mobarak Hossain, 26, the teacher of the madrasa and an imam of a local mosque struggling with her after the class was over. The other students had left around 9:00am.

Mobarak ran away as he saw him advance, Selim told The Daily Star, adding that the perpetrator sought refuge at his in-laws' house in the same village. 

Selim and other locals in the area then took the girl home. Being upset by the incident, the girl shut herself up in a room of her house and committed suicide by hanging herself from the ceiling around 11:00am, said the OC, quoting family members.

On information, police rushed to the spot, recovered the body and sent it to Mymensingh Medical College morgue for an autopsy.

Police also arrested the teacher after locals cordoned off his hiding spot. He was being interrogated at the police station as of filing this report.

The victim's elder brother Abdul Kader Mohammad Jilani lodged a case accusing the teacher with the police station.